SolarP

SolarP is a graded series of experiment which allows you to determine the Solar Power received at the Earth’s surface. This is an important measurement within the context of Global Warming. Some of the power from the Sun is absorbed in the Earth’s atmosphere. If we correct for the absorption in the Earth’s atmosphere, by making measurements at different Solar elevations, we can determine the power per unit area above the Earth’s atmosphere and this is known as the “Solar Constant”.

The Earth is at a distance of one Astronomical Unit (AU) 1.49×10¹¹ m from the Sun. So every square metre of the surface of a sphere of radius of 1AU receives the Solar Constant power. If we multiply the Solar Constant power by the surface area A of that sphere then we can calculate the total power from the Sun. This is called the Solar Luminosity L.

From the Solar Luminosity (L) in Watts, we can calculate using e=mc ² , the rate of conversion of mass to energy and hence the rate of consumption of Hydrogen. Making a few assumptions we can estimate the lifetime of the Sun.

The comprehensive manual provides sunny day and cloudy day experiments and advanced experimental options,so the SolarP experiments can be used in both Schools and Universities. If clear sunny weather is not available then results can be obtained from the analysis of existing data and by experimental measurement of the thermal properties of the detector.

Price

SolarP £168+VAT